The Property Podcast

The Property Podcast is the podcast for all property investors, new or experienced. Rob Bence and Rob Dix discuss a different property topic and property news item every week, passing on their knowledge and experience to the listeners. They both invest in UK property so they practise what they preach. No hard sell, no bull, just straight-talking property investment advice!

NEED MORE ANSWERS?

The Property Hub Summit is the place to get all your questions personally answered by Rob & Rob, and build a network of other smart, motivated investors.

Over the course of a full day at a swanky hotel we'll help you set your goals, form a plan to get you there, overcome your obstacles, and give you the support system you need to make sure nothing gets in your way.

Just don't hang around - there are only four Summits each year, and just 16 places available at each!

It's time for another couple of questions in this week's edition of 'Ask Rob & Rob'. Two listeners... ...ask Rob & Rob...What's the best way to keep builders on track? PLUS: How do interest-only mortgages work? ASK YOUR OWN QUESTION TO ROB & ROB! Don't be shy! All you need to do is leave a message with your name and whatever's on your mind. Just pick up the phone and call 013 808 00035 (normal UK call rates apply). Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead. NEED MORE ANSWERS? The Property Hub Summit is the place to get all your questions personally answered by Rob & Rob, and build a network of other smart, motivated investors. Over the course of a full day at a swanky hotel we'll help you set your goals, form a plan to get you there, overcome your obstacles, and give you the support system you need to make sure nothing gets in your way. Just don't hang around - there are only four Summits each year, and just 16 places available at each! Interested? Click here to find out more.

We're very excited to announce that Rob D's new book came out yesterday and we may be biased, but we think it is his best yet. In this week's special episode of The Property Podcast, we are going to discuss 'How to be a landlord', with tips from the book, and from all sorts of other places.

Also, we have Meetups next week. The evening's are lighter so there's no excuse not to join your nearest get together. Find all the details here.

You'll need to listen to the episode in full to get all of this week's tips and info, but here are some notes you may want to jot down.

You can make property management a lot easier with some little tricks and processes.

Communicating with tenants:

Writing is better than phone

Do whatever’s easiest for them - WhatsApp group, text, even Facebook

You don’t have to give out your phone number - Skype or switchboardfree

Set out ground rules at the start about when you’re contactable, and stick to them!

Chasing up rent:

Ideally use direct debit - you’ll know it’s set up properly

Diarise rent date and make contact on the same day if it doesn’t come in

Have a process: e.g. text day 1, call day 3, final warning day 5

Don’t fall for sob stories

If you have RGI, make sure you notify them in line with T&Cs

Dealing with emergencies:

Define “emergency"

Instruct tenants about what to do in an emergency. Often, calling you isn’t the best thing to do

Communicate clearly around damp and condensation - explain the difference

Use routine inspections to look for condensation, and also look for early signs of repairs that will need doing (including external)

Inspections:

Quick check of each room

Check smoke alarms

Visually inspect electrics

Look for fire risks

Look for condensation

Look for early signs of repairs that will be needed (including external)

Conclusion:

Work smart, not hard

Use checklists to get the best result every time

Be proactive and stop issues from happening in the first place

Oh, and of course the first thing you need to do is purchase a book that tells you exactly How to be a Landlord, right? Funnily enough, we know just the book.

News story: General Election

Obviously the biggest news story of the week is Rob's new book but we also gather the Prime Minister has called a snap General Election. We'll obviously keep you fully up to date over what this means for you in property terms.

NEED MORE ANSWERS?

The Property Hub Summit is the place to get all your questions personally answered by Rob & Rob, and build a network of other smart, motivated investors.

Over the course of a full day at a swanky hotel we'll help you set your goals, form a plan to get you there, overcome your obstacles, and give you the support system you need to make sure nothing gets in your way.

Just don't hang around - there are only four Summits each year, and just 16 places available at each!

Last week it was Scotland v England (or Rob D v Rob B) at the Meetups as Rob D ventured to Edinburgh to our brilliant Meetup there, led by Karen & Bill. Rob B took over the helm at the King's Cross Meetup and both locations were very busy.

Rob D spent a bit more time putting the finishing touches to his new book 'How to be a Landlord' but we'll tell you more about that over the next couple of weeks.

Now on to this week's big topic - all about lease hold.

Something that puts some people off - and fear often comes from lack of knowledge. So let's get educated.

What is leasehold?

You don’t own the land - you lease the land for a period of time. At the end of that time it reverts back to the freeholder if you don’t renew

Typical lease terms are anything from 100 to 999 years

You pay ground rent every year as payment for the lease

The lease has conditions about what you can and can’t do

Most common for flats, increasingly new build houses too

What you need to know

Lease extension is always possible and follows a set formula - BUT

Gets more expensive with under 80 years left - marriage value

Under about 60 years becomes hard to get mortgage

Things to check before you buy:

Length of remaining lease term

Ground rent, and if it increases after period of time

Any restrictions - like not being able to sublet!

Service charge is a bit different but this is important too

Get your solicitor to look over the lease in detail

How to extend:

Extension is always for an additional 90 years, with no ground rent payable for this new 90 years

Get a specialist valuer to value the extension and a solicitor to serve notice on the landlord, offering terms and how much to pay

Landlord has 2 months to respond, either accepting or stating their own terms

Negotiate. After 2 months either party can apply to tribunal for decision

Wait for tribunal decision, which is final

Can take a year or more from start to finish by the time you’ve waited for various deadlines

If it’s close to 80 years and you’re buying, get the vendor to start the process and transfer it to you because you can’t do it in first 2 years

How to make money from leases:

Buy properties with short leases and extend them. Will need to be cash buy or bridging until you’ve done the extension. Make sure there’s a profit even after the extension costs.

Buy freeholds. Ground rents give an income stream.

News story: Household savings ratio falls to record low.

This is a bit worrying in itself, but we're particularly concerned given that mortgages are cheaper than ever. What will happen when the cost of mortgages goes up? Take a look at this story here.

Resource of the week

This week's resource of the week is Pocket Explore. This is an extension of a previous ROTW Get Pocket. Explore Pocket takes this a bit further and helps you find high quality blogs on any given subject. Check it out.

This week our friend Pete Matthew is back, guiding us through alternative ways to get exposure to property – without owning it directly.

We discuss different types of "collective investment" vehicles (such as REITs, OIECs and a whole bunch of other acronyms) as well as investments that track property rather than holding it, such as ETFs. During our chat we get to the bottom of:

Why it's useful to look at alternatives to holding property directly

All the different options, and how to tell them apart

The pros and cons of these types of investment

How to research the prospects of different opportunities

If you enjoyed this episode, please check out more of Pete's fine work at Meaningful Money

That's the question we attempt to answer in this week's episode. What happens next in general, what happens next for the property market in particular...and perhaps more importantly, what general lessons can we take away from the whole thing?

We discuss:

What's happened during the last couple of weeks since the result

What it means for property in London – and the UK market in general

What to absolutely not do now as an investor

Where there might be opportunities to profit from uncertainty

The psychology of investors, and what Brexit can teach us about preparing for future major events

Rob & Rob own multiple property businesses as well as their own portfolios...but what do they actually do every day? That's what we attempt to answer in this episode, as a means of both showing what a full-time career in property looks like and extracting useful lessons for investors at all stages.

We never claim to be the greatest investors in the world, but one thing's for sure – we're a lot better than we used to be. This week we share five specific things we've done that have helped us to get better results.